U.S. Pat. No. 8,454,063, entitled “Mode-Switchable Door Strike” (the '063 patent), the relevant disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference, discloses an electric door strike assembly of the type forming the basis of this invention. As shown, latch portions 22 of keeper arms 18 are configured in the electric door strike assembly to be contacted by and withstand the force of an extended door latch when an attempt is made to open the door while the electric door strike assembly is in its locked mode.
When a wider keeper arm is needed in some installations in order to make contact with an extended door latch, a twisting force may be placed on the keeper arms and their associated pivots which may lead to unwanted strike assembly wear, and may even lead to an inoperative assembly thereby requiring reconstruction or replacement of the door strike, door latch or both.
What is needed in the art is an electric door strike assembly wherein the keeper arms and associated pivots are reinforced by a reinforcing bracket to minimize, and preferably eliminate the twisting force placed on the widened keeper arms.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a more durable electric door strike assembly.